Squid Game, Blackpink, kimchi pancakes … How did South Korea become such a world power? | Zoe Williams

One minute everyone wants a bit of British and American culture; the next you're on the phone desperately trying to get tickets for the latest K-pop sensation

Two weeks back, while the world was marvelling at the Great British Queue, I was in a queue of a different sort - Ticketmaster's - trying to get tickets to the South Korean band Blackpink. There was a countdown, there was an app, I had Mr Z on the case trying a different date, and it was completely fruitless, thank God, because I had no idea when I started how expensive they were.

My kid, along with my niece, is a blink", which means a fan of Blackpink, a girl band that US and UK media always call the most successful South Korean" act of all time, omitting to mention that - as the most followed music act on YouTube - they really don't need the national qualifier. The second most followed act, incidentally, is BTS - AKA the Bangtan Boys, also South Korean.

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist